Stare at you forever
by Irshbeth
Summary: Matt and his friends flashe back as they wait for a friend to take up.. Matt/oc, jeff, Forrest Griffin/OC Stare at you forever is from nkotb new album block


Matt was sitting in the hallway on the floor despite the nurses telling him several times that he needed to go in in the waiting area. He hated waiting, he was not very patient and not very good at it. The jingling of chains was heard in the background as his brother Jeff came running around the corner. He knelt down in front of Matt who had blood all over his shirt. He was talking, Matt couldn't hear him. He was joined by Riley and Forrest who also were talking. He looked up at them and started to hear what they were saying but it was all jumbled together so he didn't respond to them.  
"Matt," a doctor said emerging from the room. Matt stood up and walked through his friends and towards the doctor. "She's still out. She's in a coma. Her arm is broken and she has some stitches. She was lucky, you both were lucky you were wearing seat belts otherwise you both would have been ejected from the car. You can go in but not for too long. after you see her and if you want to send the others in, they can go in one at a time. You should probably get yourself checked out too."  
"No, I'm fine," Matt said as he walked into her room leaving the doctor to relay the information to their friends.  
There was the beeping of a heart monitor and a hum of another machines in the background. Matt walked over to the bed where she was asleep. Her right arm was in a sling and her face was bruised and cut. Matt sat beside the bed and held her left hand. "Come on baby, wake up, "he whispered, "I know you're tougher than this. We have our whole life ahead of us." He stared at her for about 15 mins trying not to cry. He kissed her hand and her forehead.

Matt came out of the room five minutes later. He was mentally and physically beat up. He sat down on the floor again and was joined by his friends. Riley touched Matts arm, "Matt, what happened?" she asked.  
Matt put his head in his hands. How did the best night he's had in a long time end like this.

Matt had picked Angel up early that morning to go to the beach. It was their Friday morning tradition that they had been doing for three years now. It was Matts turn to drive and he picked her up at 830. Riley had come out to say hello.  
"Hey Matt, she'll be out in a few...still getting ready," Riley said.  
"That girl is always late, "Matt said. "Is everyone still going to dinner tonight?"  
"That's the plan. We're meeting at 7ish. Oh, here she comes," Riley said.  
Angel came out with her black bikini top and Pink victoria Secrets shorts. she had her red hair pulled back and her over sized sunglasses. "Sorry, you know me...never on time."  
Matt smiled at her. Even at 830 in the morning and without makeup, she managed to still look beautiful. They went through their usual routine of the fight over the radio which lead into the fight over the CD. Matt looked at Angel who had put her sunglasses on her head. Matt didn't realize he was staring at her. "What...is there something in my teeth she said?"

Matt shook his head, "No, something hanging out of your nose though." He loved teasing her, he had been doing it since they met.

_I still get lost, caught in a daze,  
Tongue tied, just like the very first day..._

I saw you and I'm so amazed  
Cause the look that got me twisted still hasn't changed

**It was at a Smackdown taping and Matt was walking to the cafe to grab something to eat. He turned the corner and collided with a really short girl who was hooked up to an IPod. She bounced off him like she hit a wall, then hit the floor. Matt felt horrible and helped her up. **

**"Sorry, I get sucked into music sometimes and forget how to multi task," she said taking off her Red Sox hat revelaing long reddish brown hair and bright blue eyes. She looked up at him into his brown eyes. There was something about the way that they were looking at each other that made seconds seem like forever. They stood there silent for a minute before he realized he should say something. **

**"Don't worry about it, it happens all the time-I've walked into a wall a few times myself," he said picking up her hot pink gear bag. "I'm Matt." **

**"sadly, I know who you are. You were in my living room every week and sometimes even my bedroom," she said winking at him. "Sorry, I'm Angel and pretty shocked I just said that. You probably think I'm one of those girls that dreams about you and shit like that." **

**Matt laughed."Nah, wouldn't go that far. Are you new to Smackdown?" **

**"Yeah, first night." **

**"Well I was gonna go grab some food if you want to come with me." **

**"Sounds like a plan**."

"I swear, you two sound like an old married couple," Riley said as she walked back towards the house.  
"Married to him, just shoot me why don't you," Angel said as she elbowed Matt in the side. There was another brief argument until they finally agreed on a mix CD to start the day. "So how was your date last night?" Angel asked shifting to face him.  
Keeping his eyes on the road, Matt just sort of shrugged. "Same shit, different girl I guess."  
"Another bitch that just wants to be Mrs. Matt Hardy...gotta suck to be you, having all these women throw themselves at you."  
He smiled," Yeah that's it Angel. And you don't have guys throwing themselves at you?"  
"Well, only on the weekends," she said laughing. "Let's face it man, our jobs have a sucky side."  
"Speak for yourself, I love what I do and am blessed that I came this far," Matt said. His job meant the world to him-he was living his dream. "You don't love what you do?"  
Angel looked down at the bruise on her thigh that she got in a match the other night from Victoria. "I do but I don't know if my heart is in it all the time. Sometimes I just want to settle down and shelter a bunch of rescue dogs, ya know," she said. Angel did love her job most days. As many fans and friends as she had, she was lonely a lot. Her many relationships had failed. She either dated a guy who cheated while she was on the road or she dated a one of the guys who just cheated period. She felt that if she had someone to share all this with, it would mean so much more.

Back at the house, Riley's cell phone was ringing. It was Jeff. "Hey Jeff what's up?"  
"Did Matt pick her up yet?"  
"Yeah they're gone. He's gonna ask her isn't he?"  
Jeff laughed. "Yeah, he is and who knows how this is going to go. I'm just tired of the two of them. All this drawn out nonsense they have going on."  
"She loves him, she just won't admit it. Every time he's gone on a date she gets that green look in her eyes," Riley said.  
"Tell me about it...anytime he gets wind of her going out with a guy, he totally picks the guy apart. I'm so glad you and Forrest stepped in on this. I guess we'll find out how it went at dinner."  
Riley hung up with Jeff and went upstairs to wake up Forrest. Poor Forrest was still sore from his last fight. "Riley, I need to sleep so unless you have an omelet is behind your back, get off me."  
Wow, he was cranky this morning. " I just got off the phone with Jeff...Matt's going to ask her today."  
"No shit, well good for him. about damn time." Forrest got up and stretched. His ribs were still bruised. "I hope it works out. It's odd, they've known each other for years, never dated but he's going to ask her."  
Riley put her arms around Forrest and kissed him. "I think it's sweet. I mean, the two of them have been flirting for years. They've been there through each others break ups and hang out all the time. I'm surprised nothing ever happened between them. I mean she was there through the whole thing with Amy and he was there when Jay left her. In drunk conversations, both of them have been known to spill their guts about how much they love each other...they just never say it-to each other."  
"Sounds like a Life Time movie," Forrest joked.  
Riley pushed him. "I think that with all they've been through, they don't want to take that leap of faith...but I think Matt is ready now."  
" I think you should leap into the kitchen and make me breakfast, 'Forrest said putting on a shirt.

Two weeks ago, Matt was shooting pool with Forrest and Riley. Some waitress was seriously hitting on Matt who was completely ignorant of what was going on.  
Forrest finally put hi pool stick in front of him as he was rounding the table. "Dude, seriously...the waitress has been throwing signs out to you all night and you just ignore her. How, how could you-her ass has a mind of its own."

Riley shot him a look.

"Not that I was checking her out or anything because that would be wrong...I'm just saying," Forrest said trying to pull his foot out of his mouth.

Matt shrugged his shoulders. "Not into her I guess."

"You're not into anyone," Riley said.

"Psh, that's rich," Forrest said.

Riley looked at Forrest and then at Matt. "Do explain love."

"Yeah, I'd like to hear this one too," Matt said leaning against the pool table and crossing his arms.

"Well Matt if you do recall the party we went to last. The one where you played about 20 rounds of beer pong and almost puked on your brother." Forrest began as Matt and Riley looked at him. "Well, in your drunken stupor, you mentioned to me that there was a reason all of your dates and relationships didn't work out. You were comparing them all to her."

"Her who?" Riley and Matt asked at the same time.

"Angel...face it, you have a serious thing for her and always have. I don't know why nothing ever happened between the two of you. All this flirting you do and hanging all over each other. No wonder you don't have a girlfriend because you're comparing them all to her...and guess what, none of them are Angel. So do yourself a favor, either shit or get off the pot because the two of you aren't doing each other any favors."

Riley looked over at Matt who looked a little embarrassed. "Matt, I'm going to tell you something but you can not let anyone else know that I told you this, especially Angel. Angel has had a thing for you since you met but you had Amy then she had Jay and the timing was always bad. I guess she settled for friends as opposed to nothing at all."

Matt looked at Riley. "So what do I do."

"That's up to you, but strangely enough, Forrest is right-before the ship sails."

Matt and Angel went to their usual corner at the beach. it was the furthest removed from the general population. They set up blankets and threw on some sunblock. Matt sat up while Angel turned over onto her stomach. "I could sleep here all day, "she said. 'Someday I'll build a house on this beach."  
"That sounds like a plan to me," Matt said.  
"Can you untie my top?" Angel asked. Matt undid her bikini strings; he knew how much she hated tan lines. "So Ashley was asking about you the other day."  
Matt rolled his eyes. "Really, that's nice."  
Angel looked over at Matt. "She thinks you're cute."  
"she needs to eat something, "Matt joked.  
"So I take it you're not interested? Well good, she's not your type anyway,"Angel said putting her hand on his.  
Matt lay down on his side and faced her. "So what is my type then...you seem to know so much about me."  
Angel almost turned to face him but realized her top was undone. Matt laughed at her as she caught her almost wardrobe malfunction. " You need someone who can be there for you, that understands what you do and can trust you...and you can trust them. So many know you as Matt Hardy on TV and not the Matt Hardy who chills on the beach with me and watches horror movies. You need someone who's not going to get jealous of the girls who come up to you to take a picture or sign an autograph. Someone who will put up with your crappy taste in music...and your weird choice of pants, " she said smiling at him.  
"Well if you find her, give her my number," he said rubbing her lower back.  
Angel gave him a little salute, "Sure thing boss. If she has a brother, don't forget to hook your girl up too."  
Matt smiled at her, "I'll do that. You just need to stay away from the bad boys."  
"I know, I know. I wish I could find a nice guy instead of the addicts, or the married guys, or the ones who get me confused with a porn star," Angel said . "It's just had. I have to look perfect all the time and live up to the expectations of a character I play on TV. Can't a girl just hang out in her pjs and watch a movie."  
Matt had hated all of her ex boyfriends. It pissed him off the way they would treat her. Jay was probably the worst of the bunch. Angel had been dating him for about a year when Jay cheated on her with someone they worked with. When she confronted him about it, the altercation got physical and he ended up hitting her. Jeff had walked in on it and got Matt. The two of them beat the crap out of him and Jay ended up leaving her and his job. all the other guys she dated either dated her just to sleep with her or brag about sleeping with a Diva, ended up cheating on her, or were just assholes. Matt knew that looking after Angel was like a part time job but in all honesty, he loved spending time with her. He didn't like seeing her unhappy but he was the one she always turned to when she needed someone.  
Angel did her share of looking out for Matt as well. When Matt was fired after Amy had cheated on him with Adam, Angel threatened to make a public announcement at Madison Square Garden as to why Matt was released. She also got suspended for a month and stripped of the Womens Title for jumping on Amy backstage at a show. Matt had forgiven Amy but Angel had not. She had hated seeing him mentally broken. She also took time off when Matt got really sick with a ruptured appendix and when he had his knee surgery. She didn't want him to be by himself, especially when Amy thought it was more important to focus on herself.

"You must get so sick of listening to me bitch about guys. I know I'd shoot me if I were you," she said.

Matt got comfortable on his back. "Nah, every week is like a new adventure with you and mystery guy who you get all excited about going on a date with then end up bitching about after. Where would I get my excitement if not from your dating disasters."

Angel grabbed her top and tried to prop herself up on one arm. "Oh please, like the trash you've brought home has been any better. I should hook up my losers with your losers and both of us could save each other some time. I love you to death Matt but lets face it, we have shit for luck in this area," she said laying back down.

Matt remembered how well she and Amy got along, which was pretty much not at all. He figured Amy was jealous of the new friendship he had with her. It was Amys idea to hook her up with Jay to distract her. Despite the fact that Matt was Amy and Jay was with Angel, Matt and Angel didn't lighten up on the time they spent together. Amy constantly asked Matt why she was always around. He had known Amy much longer than Angel and she didn't see the need for them to spend so much time together. Matt simply put it to her this way:

Since I met her, things have felt more in place. There is a reason we were meant to meet-I'm not sure what it is but I can't not see her in my life right now. You're just going to have to trust me.

Amy didn't trust him and while Matt was recovering at home, Amy was sleeping with their friend Adam. It had started out as payback but ended up turning into more. Sadly, there was no reason for it. Even when Amy confronted Angel and even when their boss confronted her, Angel flat out said she would take a lie detector test and swore on her mother that nothing had ever gone on with her and Matt. "If you can't be woman enough to let your man have a female friend then you need to check yourself Amy. You just fucked up probably the best thing that ever happened to you," were Angels final words to her as she stormed out of the meeting. Matt heard about the meeting and two days later, he was let go.

Forrest had heard the news from Jeff who called Matt. "That's fucking bullshit," was all Forrest kept saying.

Matt was trying to be more level headed and wasn't saying too much but he could hear Angel screaming to Riley in the background. "Please tell her that it's not her fault."

Matt could hear Forrest tell Riley to contain her friend before she destroys his house. "Listen, why don't we hang out or something-go grab a drink and calm down the Tasmanian devil running through my living room. I'll come pick you up."

Matt was hesitant. He was feeling really down and didn't want to go out but figured it wasn't doing him any good to mope in the house about it. Forrest, Riley and Angel picked Matt up about ten minutes later.

Angel ran out of the truck and met Matt half way to the house and hugged him. She apologized about 10 times within a span of a minute and wouldn't stop sobbing. He managed to get her back in the truck after hugging her and telling her that everything will be ok, things will work out.

At the bar, Angel wouldn't even look at Matt. He finally went over to where she was standing and touched the side of her face. She finally looked up at him and said she was sorry again and that she should probably leave because he could understand if he didn't want to be around her.

Matt just looked into her eyes that were slightly bloodshot from all the crying. He knew she felt horrible for what happened and he knew she was taking the blame. He never blamed her. There had been nothing but trust between the two of them and looking into her eyes, all he could see was sadness.

"I could look at you all day," he said to her. " I don't want you to leave...and I don't want to not have you in my life either. I don't blame you for anything that happened, please don't ever think that I do. Things always get worse before they get better."

Angel smeared the mascar all over her face and Matt smiled at her. Even with her makeup a mess, she was still beautiful.

_Your sexy eyes never lie,  
Baby, I lose myself (when they open)  
Girl, forget about goin' out  
Baby, I'd rather not (So, I'm hoping)_

Chorus:  
I could just stare at you forever (Oh, baby)  
I could be here with you doing whatever (My lady)  
It's not the way you look that brings me to my knees,  
It's the way you look at me  
I could just stare at you forever  
If forever you were staring at me

Angels phone was ringing. Matt reached over and grabbed it out of her bag. It was Riley. "Hey Ri," he said.

"What are you doing answering her phone?" Riley asked.

"She's sorta untied at the moment," he answered as Angel stuck her tongue out at him. "What can I do for you?"

"Actually, I need to talk to little woman, it's girl stuff," she said. Matt passed the phone over to Angel and tied the back of her bikini back up so she could sit up.

"Hey hun, what's up," Angel asked.

"Forrest is an asshole," she screamed.

"Oh lord, what did he do," Angel asked. She loved Forrest to death but sometimes she wondered about that boy.

"Well, Dana just called and asked him to be some coach for a stupid reality show."

"Ok."

"And he'll be in Vegas for 2 months. Two fucking months Angel."

"Oh, that's not so good."

"And...and right after that, he has to go into training for a fight they're doing after the series ends where he gets to fight Quintin...so that's what, another four months. Are you fucking kidding me? And then he tried to say that I'm gone all the time too...but I come home two days a week. So, he just walked out."

"Ri, that's his job...and it pays well. You knew this was what he wanted to do when you met him."

Riley started to cry. "But he's not gone for this long usually and he doesn't see the problem. And it would be expensive for me to stay there on the two days off. This is a mess. Nice relationship we'll have. I'll call you back, he just walked in."

Riley hung up with Angel and went downstairs to meet Forrest who had just come back in with Angels dog. Riley and Forrest didn't fight often but when they did, it wasn't pretty. Riley was very emotional and did a combination of crying and screaming to get her point across. Forrest, a little calmer, swore a lot. You could tell the severity of the argument by how many times Forrest dropped the F-bomb.

"Ri, this is my job, what I do for a living. I don't give you shit about your job. Or when you're on national TV in your fucking underwear. Do you see me parading around in my fucking underwear? No...I'm a professional fighter and I fight, what...once, maybe twice a year. Cut me some fucking slack," Forrest said.

Riley was still crying from when she called Angel. "My job is totally different from what you do and you know that."  
"I think the next fight I have, I'll just be in my jock strap. I'm sure that will go over well." Forrest went downstairs to the rec room and slammed the door. His second favorite thing to do, slam doors.  
So that was it? Riley thought to herself. He really is just going to go off to Vegas for months. Unbelievable...  
ilForrest was downstairs in the rec room playing pool by himself. This was his job, why couldn't she understand that. He did what he did so eventually Riley wouldn't have to run around on tv in her underwear. It's not that he hated what she did, he just didn't understand it. When he met her three years ago, MMA wasn't as big as it was and he never thought he'd be asked to be a coach which is an honor.

Riley and Forrest met at an after party in Vegas after one of the fights. He wasn't fighting that night but was in the audience. Riley was at the fight with Matt, Jeff and Angel. Angel had managed to get them into the party by flirting with the bouncer at the door who recognized her. After taking a few pictures, the four were allowed in with passes.

Riley went to the bar to get drinks and ended up spotting Forrest at the other end of the bar. Flapping her arms, she booked it back to their table.

"Drinks?" Jeff said. "Some of us are quire parched."

"You'll never guess who's here," she practically squealed.

"The bartender...so we should technically have drinks, right?" Matt added.

"Forrest Griffen," she said smiling.

Matt and Jeff looked confused and Angel laughed. "She has a huge crush on him," angel said pointing him out.

"Dude with the ears?" Jeff asked as he got up and went to the bar.

"Where's he going?" Riley asked as Jeff walked right up to Forrest. "Oh god, oh god, oh god."

Jeff was talking to Forrest for about 10 minutes and occasionally they would look over at the table as Riley tried to hide behind Matt. "Oh shit, he's bringing him over here."

"Sit," Matt said anchoring Riley in her seat. She was blushing severely.

Jeff pulled up a chair for Forrest and sat back down. "So I was at the bar and ran into this character. Forrest, this is my brother Matt, his non-date Angel and our friend Riley."

"Hey," Forrest said shaking hands with everyone.

Riley loosened up after a few drinks and eventually started talking to Forrest. Matt and Jeff hit it off with him immediately. The five of them made plans the following night for Forrest to come check out the PPV they were doing. After their matches, they all joined Forrest in the luxury box where a bunch of the UFC guys were hanging out. Forrest knew little about wrestling and found it funny at times. He found it a riot that Angels character was such a bitch and she was really nice, yet sarcastic to him in person. Even Rileys character-who seemed to be a little on the slutty side-was so down to earth and real. This, he thought, was the most attractive thing about her.

Angel put her phone back in her bag and leaned into Matt. "Riley and Forrest are fighting," she said.

"Bout what?" Matt asked.

"He has to live in Vegas for awhile, like 6 months it seems and she's pissed he's going," Angel said.

"Oh, they must have offered him the coaching job," Matt said.

Angel took off her sunglasses. "You knew about this?"

"Well he mentioned that he thought it would be cool if he got to coach Ultimate Fighter because that's how he got his break...I didn't know he was being considered. I don't think he knew he was going to be considered either," Matt explained.

'What would you do if I had to leave for six months?" Angel asked.

"Where are you going?" Matt asked grabbing waters out of the bag Angel brought.

"Doesn't matter where."

"Well, yeah it does. I'd need to know what to pack."

"Shut up, you wouldn't come with me," she said.

"Well I guess it would depend. I would definitely visit you every chance I got but if you were dead set on going, I'd be happy for you. I'd miss you like crazy though, so try not to get some glamorous job in Italy or anything," Matt said smiling at her.

"You'd miss me? Really? You're not going to follow this up with something mean are you?"

Matt shook his head. "No, nothing mean. But it's different with them...they're an actual couple. We're just a couple of idiots," he said laughing.

"Ok, so what if we were a couple? And I had to go move to New York for six months or something, then what?"

"Well, first I'd see if I could get some time off. I know Vince wouldn't give me six months, but I'd see what I could get...and the rest of the time, I'd visit as much as I could. I wouldn't want you to stop doing what you love because I'd miss you. I mean, I love you enough and trust you enough to know that no matter where we are in the world, we'll always have each other."

Angel didn't say anything for a minute but just stated at Matt. She had this confused look on her face and wasn't sure what he just said. He said all that in the present tense as if he did love her. The response was no longer hypothetical was it. "Matt, did you just say that you love me? I mean, I know sometimes I over think things and I don't want to over think anything here. This is all like pretend, isn't it?"

Matt took a deep breath. This was a do or die time. He hadn't meant to word his answer like that but that's how it came out. He was facing the reality that he was in love with Angel and was going to tell her, and mean it. He wasn't sure how she felt about him or how this was going to effect things with them. There had been only one other time where he wanted to tell her how he felt but at the last minute, he chickened out. This could either go really good, or really, really bad. he had to say something, Angel had this really weird look on her face and the silence was making things even more weird.

"Remember when we first met?" he asked.

"Um, yeah...I kind of ran into you literally."

"From the moment I met you, I knew that you were a person I needed in my life and today, I can't picture my life without you. Sometimes, you can bring quite a bit of chaos but for the most part, I've been honored to be your friend."

Angel half smiled. "And you're one of my best friends and I wouldn't have it any other way."

"You always ask me 'What was wrong with that girl' or 'How come you don't date her'. The reason there's always something wrong with the women I date or don't date is because they're not..."

"Good enough for you?"

"You. They're not you. I have measured every woman I dated against you, and they never even come close."

The weird look was coming back. "Excuse me?"

"I'm in love with you Angel. I have been for a long time but I was too paranoid to admit it, to myself or to you. I was always afraid something would go wrong and you'd be gone from my life and I don't think I can deal with not being around you all the time."

Angel was stunned and speechless, which was odd for her. She never thought in a million years that they would be having this conversation. "I don't know what to say, Matt. This totally caught me off guard. I always figured that I was only good enough to be your friend but nothing more. The whole time you were with Amy, she made it seem that you could never be interested in a girl like me. That I'm just 'one of the guys'. I guess I accepted that, to you, I'm just one of the guys. I don't want you to feel like you're just settling. I want you to have the world, Matt. You deserve it."

"I never thought of you as one of the guys. There were things I've done with you that I couldn't do with anyone else. I've told you things that no one else knows. All I know is that you are the only one I want to be with. I love you and I've been in love with you for awhile now."


End file.
